“I could no longer work in the country that is bombing my homeland.”
Former Bundesliga star Andriy Voronin (42/Hertha, Leverkusen) was Sandro Schwarz’s (43) assistant coach at top Russian club Dinamo Moscow before Putin attacked Ukraine. Before the league game in Khimki, he posted a Ukrainian flag on his Instagram profile – and threw it at Dinamo.
Photo: Instagram @ voroninandrey
” data-zoom-src=”https://bilder.bild.de/fotos/voronin-war-seit-oktober-2020-co-trainer-bei-dinamo-moskau-c15ffdb3119445619457dc8305aa2f25-79309606/Bild/2.bild. jpeg”/> Voronin has been an assistant coach at Dinamo Moscow since October 2020Photo: Instagram @ voroninandrey
Ex-Ukrainian national player Voronin (74 internationals) told BILD: “We got out of Moscow with a line machine before it was completely blocked. But we couldn’t land in Düsseldorf. We flew via Amsterdam. My father, just operated, my mother-in-law, my wife and children are here now. The little ones went to the German school in Moscow. But school doesn’t matter now.”
BILD: Putin’s attack on Ukraine is a nightmare.
Voronin: “I’ve been feeling bad for four days. Really bad. When I see all the pictures from my homeland, when I see the news. It’s all as unreal as a movie. But a horror film. I have hardly any words left.”
BILD: What drives Putin?
Voronin: “Does he know that himself? Maybe he just wants to be in the history books. But he never ends up there. Or at most as a criminal.”
BILD: Hundreds of thousands are demonstrating in Berlin against the war of aggression. What does that mean to you?
Voronin: “I am grateful to the people in Berlin. The whole world supports our country. People in Russia are also opposed to Putin. I have messages from all over the world from former teammates, from other athletes. Also from Russians who write to me: ‘We’re sorry. That’s not us.’”
BILD: Your President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, a former actor, was ridiculed for a long time…
Voronin: “…now he is in the middle of a war, risking his life in our capital. That deserves maximum respect. The past doesn’t matter now. I tip my hat!”
BILD: How can Germany help Ukraine?
Voronin: “Stop that son of a bitch Putin, help the refugees. And send weapons so we can defend ourselves. I’m so proud of our country. We have beautiful cities, great people. We will keep fighting. And we will win. But the price is so high. All the dead… We live in the year 2022 and not in WWII…
BILD: At that time, millions of Ukrainians and Russians died fighting together against Nazi Germany.
Voronin: “I and many other Ukrainians have friends in Russia. And they have friends, relatives with us. And then they attack us, Putin attacks my country. So many people have died already. They are children of mothers – Ukrainian and Russian. Except that nobody in Russia finds out about it. It’s not shown on TV there. Ninety percent don’t even know what’s happening. Putin don’t care about the people. It harms not only us, but also the Russian people.”
BILD: You were just able to emigrate to Germany with your family…
Voronin: “And yet my thoughts and my heart are in Ukraine. I have friends in Kharkov, in Kyiv, in my hometown of Odessa. I get messages every five minutes. It’s hard to bear. I just want to help. With money. Whatever… And I don’t know if I should say it: But if I were in Ukraine right now, I’d probably have a gun in my hand too.”
